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Um, no. It matters. They ended up bringing in Perez to face Victorino and Pedroia, both of whom hit lefties considerably better. If Medina comes in and gets one of those guys, things look a lot different.

This seems like a harmless misunderstanding--why did the umps need to enforce who they thought was coming in? It's not like the Mariners tricked the Red Sox into putting in a PH or something.

Why are the umpires involved at all in who comes out of the bullpen? Is there some advantage to a manager giving some kind of deceptive sign that makes the other team thing he's going to pitcher B when in fact he is going to pitcher A? It's going to become pretty clear to the whole stadium once the guy comes out of the pen.

The manager's signal also seems a bit weird to me. Wouldn't it make the most sense to have someone call the bullpen immediately before or while the manager is walking out to say "bring in Perez". You've got a bullpen phone, why not use it?

Wait. What? An umpire can dictate who comes in the game based on his interpretation of a hand motion? Even though the correct pitcher is jogging in from the bullpen? I'm the last guy to jump on "the umpires suck worse than ever" bandwagon but that scenario is ridiculous. The guys in the bullpen understood the signal. Why would an umpire go out of his way to overrule that?

Something similar happened to the Red Sox a couple of years ago with a pinch hitter rather than a reliever. I don't remember the specifics but the Sox wound up with the "wrong" pinch hitter in a key spot.

I agree with Darren and Greg. I'm curious if this is actually a rule, I always assumed it was just a convention. What happens if both pitchers warming up are right-handed? In the 2005 WS I remember Ozzie making a motion that basically was "I want the fat guy" to note Jenks over the other righty. It's not like Thompson waved with his left hand and had all sorts of time to rethink it, Perez had not even left the bullpen.

Why are the umpires involved at all in who comes out of the bullpen? Is there some advantage to a manager giving some kind of deceptive sign that makes the other team thing he's going to pitcher B when in fact he is going to pitcher A? It's going to become pretty clear to the whole stadium once the guy comes out of the pen.

The only thing I can think of is that if a lefty jogs out of the pen and the hitting team gets a righty hitter up there to PH then the lefty heads back if the hitter is introduced the batting team is at a disadvantage. If the manager is dumb enough to send the PH up before the reliever is formally introduced that's his own fault.

That's seriously messed up. Is there anything in the rules that gives the umps that kind of authority? If not, can the Mariners protest the game?

That's what I was just going to ask. Even as a Sox fan, I sure hope the M's played it under protest, just in case. I didn't see anything in the rules regarding manager/coach mound visits that covers it.

I thought you had until the pitcher was announced to change your mind. That seems pretty messed up.

The only thing I can think of is that if a lefty jogs out of the pen and the hitting team gets a righty hitter up there to PH then the lefty heads back if the hitter is introduced the batting team is at a disadvantage. If the manager is dumb enough to send the PH up before the reliever is formally introduced that's his own fault.

And the thing is, teams frequently put out a "fake" pinch-hitter in the on-deck circle that they have no intention of putting in the game. If he takes a step towards the plate, is he considered "in the game" now? I thought you had to be officially announced.

And the thing is, teams frequently put out a "fake" pinch-hitter in the on-deck circle that they have no intention of putting in the game. If he takes a step towards the plate, is he considered "in the game" now? I thought you had to be officially announced.

Something like this happened to the Red Sox a couple of years ago. I don't remember the specifics but there was a situation where Francona wanted one pinch hitter but wound up having to go with someone else because of something on this order.

Also, hasn't tapping your right arm (obviously with your left hand) always been the sign for a righty?

That's not what he did. There's a good video of it on the At Bat app, he pointed with his left hand then quickly pulled it back and pointed with his right hand. It really does seem like an umpire trying to exert too much control. Some reporter should really reach out to the league office and find out how precise the rule on this is. Thompson definitely pointed with his left hand first but man that seems just too much of an NFL style technicality for my taste. The Mariners got screwed.

I get a 'free' game email from a local odds expert every so often. His game last night was the Boston/Seattle Total, taking the under (I never bet off anything he sends). After the Blanco early GS, I was laughing arse off, then started to get nervous as Felix started dealing.

What this seems to indicate is that the umpires have codified the way managers must signal for new pitchers from the bullpen, right? That there is a specific set of gestures that they must use. Which is ridiculous. Until the directive comes down from the commissioner's office, a manager can use semaphore or ASL to bring in a new pitcher, and the umps shouldn't say boo about it.

No sympathy here for the Mariners, whose bullpen imploded regardless of who came in. But the umps couldn't have asked Thompson, "Skip, we thought we saw you call for a lefthander, but the righthander's coming out of your pen. Which is it going to be?" if they were uncertain, and then announce the pitching change?

This has happened before guys...I don't remember where but I immediately thought of it when Thompson pointed with the wrong arm, and immediately thought, "Well now I'm going to find out if the last guys to do this were just being asses, or if this is some kind of rule."

I can't find anything in the official rules that suggests the signal is binding. The pitcher is not official until announced or until he touches the pitching rubber.

Yeah but Umpires are supposed to announce the substitution immediately upon being notified. If the arm gesture counts as notification, it's a defensible reading of the rules. The question is do managers typically give any other signal to the umpires as to whom they are substituting.

#### happens. This is why (as a Red Sox fan) you don't ##### about stuff like the Nava call at home against Tampa earlier in the week. It always comes around. Same will ahppen for the Mariners.

I don't think that's the point. Blown calls on bang-bang plays have always been part of the game. This is more a case of the growing arrogance umpires have displayed this season. The weird ejections, the refusal to get the call right earlier in the Oakland-Indians game, the arguments with players. The balance is out of whack.

I don't think that's the point. Blown calls on bang-bang plays have always been part of the game. This is more a case of the growing arrogance umpires have displayed this season. The weird ejections, the refusal to get the call right earlier in the Oakland-Indians game, the arguments with players. The balance is out of whack.

Is it arrogance or just incompetence? Making up rules that don't exist seems more like stupidity than arrogance.

I mean, if you really believe that that's the rule, it's not arrogant to enforce it. It is a stunning indictment of their professional competence if four umpires don't know the rule.

One thing I'll note is that Thompson didn't seem to argue it at all. That makes me think it IS in fact a correct ruling (though I agree with Voxter that it should be changed, common sense is your friend). I was at the game and I thought the Sox were getting screwed because I saw Thompson pointing with his right arm then suddenly Perez was coming in and I thought Thompson had been allowed to change after Medina started coming in. I thought Perez was a bad move so I didn't mind too much but it seemed odd. Apparently it was odder than I thought.

IMO the umps need a serious punishment over stuff like this. I am a Jays fan, so no skin in this battle (our club sucks). Until the manager says the name of the pitcher coming in to the ump how can it be official? As others have said, if there were 2 LH or 2 RH pitchers out there then what? This is an umpire trying to show who is in charge, not trying to make the game be played by the rules.

Remember when MLB was trying to speed up the games? Perhaps they now have a rule or an interpretation about waving to the pen. That said, this seemed to defeat the purpose, as they had to send the righty back to the pen and get the lefty. Tehy'd be better off with a rule that a reliever who steps onto the filed has to go in.

I remember when the Padres unloaded Oliver Perez in the Brian Giles deal. A lot of the local fan base/media was really ticked because they were convinced the Padres were trading away several Cy Young awards. Guess that didn't quite happen, eh?

Yeah but Umpires are supposed to announce the substitution immediately upon being notified. If the arm gesture counts as notification, it's a defensible reading of the rules. The question is do managers typically give any other signal to the umpires as to whom they are substituting.

Methinks that Rackley found a really creative way to ensure the over happened for the gambling syndicate he works for.

I remember when the Padres unloaded Oliver Perez in the Brian Giles deal. A lot of the local fan base/media was really ticked because they were convinced the Padres were trading away several Cy Young awards. Guess that didn't quite happen, eh?

I suspect a great amount of amusement could be had by going back and reading the hysterical rantings of various fans after some prospect was dealt away. I'm sure for example we could find Tiger fans who were outraged at giving up Cameron Maybin and Andrew Miller for a fat third baseman.

And yes, my rantings from Tuesday and Wednesday about Jose Iglesias are likely to be a part of this exhibit some day.

Until the manager says the name of the pitcher coming in to the ump how can it be official? As others have said, if there were 2 LH or 2 RH pitchers out there then what?

IIRC it was the manager's second visit, so a substitution was official the moment he left the dugout and headed toward the mound. All that remained was some communication about which pitcher. He did that, in a way that the bullpen, the umpires, and everyone watching the game understood. Then he corrected himself.

If the umpire had signalled the substitution to the PA announcer I think it's a done deal at that point. If it was before the correction, too bad.

One thing I'll note is that Thompson didn't seem to argue it at all. That makes me think it IS in fact a correct ruling

In the article, he basically plays the scared newbie. "If that's a rule, I didn't know," etc. I don't know if that's a fair representation of his actual thought process, but he's an interim manager who is in the hospital having just had a stroke, it's entirely possible that he doesn't know the rule book that well right now.

I suspect a great amount of amusement could be had by going back and reading the hysterical rantings of various fans after some prospect was dealt away.

I think I had some interesting things to say about trading away Andy Marte for Coco Crisp.

I fondly remember my first days at this site and how many Sox fans felt like Dennis Tankersley for Ed Sprague was a low point for the franchise.

Yeah, I felt that way for 2001 (the season after the trade) at least: 1.98 ERA, 173/44 K/BB, 9 HR in 136 innings across three levels, including a 104/31 K/BB across 84 innings at AA and AAA. Even just now on checking his number I realized I had forgotten how quickly his major league career went.

Plus, Ed Sprague! He had been a replacement level player since his good 1996 season, In fact, when he arrived in Boston, he had accrued exactly 0.0 bWAR since the start of the 1997 season. There was no need to trade a 21 year old starter getting 10 Ks per 9 with reasonable control for someone like that, and given the other moves of that era (Brogna, Bichette, Lansing) it became a symbol of the lack of imagination that seemed to characterize the late Duquette era in Boston, where he went from finding scrap heap guys and finding them roles where they could succeed (Troy O'Leary, Reggie Jefferson), he just started adding boring and/or washed up veterans, often at the cost of one of the few prospects in what I recall being a fairly weak farm system at the time.

Dan's a good GM, and he made some fine moves in Boston as well (Damon, Manny, Pedro!, etc.), but he really missed an opportunity with the seasons he got from Pedro and Nomar in 2000. Construct an average team around them and you win 95 games.

I wonder to what extent the illegal pitcher substitution (was it earlier this year?) where the umpires were fined/disciplined played into this. This rule could have been stressed to a degree in some memo that led to the umpires being particularly strict in interpreting the pitcher substitution rule. (Edit: Strict really isn't the right word here given the actual rulebook is pretty vague -- essentially silent -- on what counts as a communication to the umpire about the identity of the substitute.)